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When asked to write about how my faith had influenced my work life, my initial reaction was, "how did it not"?  My approach was not to try to bring God into the workplace, but rather to use my work to honor God and serve him.  Through 40 years of work, I found that I could magnify God in everything I did; as a printing office clerk, teacher, researcher or analyst. The workplace also extended beyond just my desk…it is everywhere I do things including my office, home and school.

Even in heaven, I expect to be working; albeit with a different atmosphere.  For me, work here on earth is just a preview of my eternal life in heaven. I expect that Jesus will give me tasks I can accomplish with joy and grace, working peacefully with others as we eternally praise God in all we do. 

Here are some approaches to consider for whatever workplace you find yourself in.

Enthusiasm: In whatever you do, be enthusiastic, and put your whole heart into the work.  Pursue your passion, for that is an effective tool reflecting Christ.  1 Cor. 10:31 tells us to “... do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory.”  

Relationships:  Hold out the love of Christ to all you encounter. Serve others as Jesus did.  Listen to the hardship and hurts others encounter, and show both your own care, and point toward the One who cares divinely. Be of service and take a genuine interest in the lives of others. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Joy:  Let your life reflect the joy of the Lord in your heart.  Don’t be a complainer but draw out the good in all people and situations.  Live out James 1:2-3, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.”

Trust:  In all things, remember that it is not you, but God who has control.  Be diligent in all that you do but remember that you are utterly dependent on God for everything as Proverbs 3:5-6 notes: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Integrity:  Our world often encourages people to “get away” with things.  Instead, let’s act in such a way that everyone can see that you are cognizant of the ultimate Judge, and that you rely on Him. Matthew 5: 16 says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Money:  Work as a steward of God’s money and treat money as a reminder of our ultimate treasure.  Don’t be a slave to the dollar but use it as the tool it is to forward the kingdom of Christ.

Grace:  Just as you received undeserved grace and salvation, treat all others as what they really are: Human beings made in the image and likeness of God. Be a reflection of the love of God.  1 Pet. 3:5 says, “You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”

So as you go about your work, whether in an office, your home or somewhere else, remember the words of Proverbs 8:18-19 telling us what happens when we bring our work to God, “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.”

Now get to work and take God with you!  

We had a six-hour drive ahead of us.  If I’d known what would unfold a few months later, I’d have wished that drive was twice as long.  I was a young sales manager, and spent most of my time feeling in way over my head.  Dan and I were driving from Denver to Casper for a few days of sales calls.  Traveling with Dan was an experience; lots of coffee, not much food, and more meetings than any human should endure.  But that day was different, we just drove and watched the plains of Wyoming drift by. 

As we talked of past jobs, customers, and the latest in shelving technology the conversation switched from the unimportant to a place I never saw coming.  Dan started talking about God, religion, and all the dumb Christians.  In that moment, my life as a sales manager and my life as a Christ follower collided.  I had no time to prep, no time to make a tract to give him, no time for a script.  We talked for a long time about what Jesus really said, what it really means to give your life to him, and how it’s not stereotypical “religion”.  Dan didn’t pray to receive Christ that day, but in the months that followed my dad would get to talk to him, and he and I would share similar conversations.

I wish I had known that it would be less than a year later that Dan would take his own life.  Years of vices and pain would take their toll and end tragically.  I’m not sure where Dan stood with the Lord, but I am constantly reminded that there is immense opportunity in the workplace to be a Christian, to share relationally in ways that are unique to business and careers.  Without being Dan’s coworker, there was no way I would have had the opportunity to have eternally significant conversations with him.  There are things I would do differently if I could talk to Dan again, but I trust that God knows Dan’s heart.

It isn’t always easy to live out your faith at work.  Pressures for performance, to be task oriented and to get ahead at any cost abound. Yet, in only a way that God can do, he creates the opportunity for us to value performance and making money while living out Paul’s words in Colossians 3.

“Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth”.

No matter where you spend your days at work; in your house, in an institution, or a company, the pressure to focus on the temporal will be overwhelming.  To pass car rides talking about the NFL instead of on the things above.  But God calls us to be eternally minded, even in the most temporal of circumstance.

My challenge to you is this: Be about the Eternal in everything you do at work. 

See it as an opportunity beyond just a paycheck or a promotion.  There are many ways to do this, but I offer you three ways to start.

1. Be about People Not Tasks - You will be pressured to be about your task list and your goals. But, if in every interaction you have with a coworker you look for the chance to build a real relationship, God will use that relationship for His purpose. 
2. Serve Above and Beyond - In a world where a servant’s heart is rare, find 1 or 2 things per week to do to serve your coworkers. No strings attached, no hidden agenda.  Be different even in simple ways.
3. Make your prayer life part of your work - God will put people in your life for maybe no other reason than to have you pray for them. Lift them up to God.  IF you’re living #1 above you’ll have specific things to pray about.  How different will your interactions with that difficult person be if you spent the morning lifting them up.

I will never forget Dan, and the chance my job gave me to be in His life. 

For the next few weeks through the MCC blog we’re going to explore what it means to live out our faith in the workplace.  What an incredible opportunity to be agents of transformation for God’s Glory!

Over the last two years, particularly after becoming involved with International Students Inc., I've wondered a lot about my Christian witness and how it manifests in my life.

There are ample opportunities to witness but am I doing it right? Am I witnessing when I repeatedly referred to Christ?  Or, is it when I quote or paraphrase scripture? Is it when I love people by meeting their needs without expecting anything in return? Am I really serving the Lord or am I simply serving myself because I enjoy what I'm doing? I have so many questions, and it so much to think about, but what a great opportunity to consider!

Two years ago, Doug Eury invited me to a weekly gathering of foreign UNM students through ISI. The students we met that night were determined to improve their understanding and usage of conversational English. After several weeks of participation in a group setting, I was asked by a married student if I would consider tutoring her in English. She needed help preparing for the TOEFL exam, a graduate-level English proficiency test, required prior to admission to United States universities.

God used that simple request to change our families lives and my understanding of how we can truly be witnesses for Christ.

In summary, I've gone from talking to unknown foreign university students within a structured format, to becoming close friends with Maryam and Mostafa, an Iranian Muslim couple. We consider them very dear friends and even have explicit permission to teach their four-month-old baby, Sam, about Christ as he grows up! Sam is regarded by Kara and I as our fifth grandchild and we have become Maryam and Mostafa's “American parents."

In addition to that amazing blessing, on Christmas Day we hosted eight students from both Iran and Bangladesh in our home, representing three distinct language groups, besides English!

While the English may have been fragmented, the fellowship was amazing. And, the good news is that I think "it" is just beginning.

International Students Inc. is one of the many ministries with which Mountain Christian church has encouraged participation. ISI is a program at UNM. It has been embraced by the college, in recognition that it is a Christian organization, because of the amazing services performed by this organization. ISI serves students and their families by greeting foreign students upon arrival at the airport, making housing arrangements, providing temporary shelter until those arrangements are secure, hosting social gatherings, conducting hikes, providing numerous food fellowship events, tutoring, language training, providing furniture, providing legal information – and the list goes on! The need is huge!

ISI offers us, as Christians, a wonderful witnessing opportunity and chance to step in a serve someone when they need it most.

So, take a chance and engage with others, propelled by the "idea" of witnessing; initiate a relationship and hopefully a friendship, reach out in love and serve others for Christ.

To learn more about ISI and how you can get involved contact Tom O'Brien.

I heard a story the other day that I just can’t shake.

A young man, Jerome, was awarded a scholarship to Wheaton College through the Posse Foundation.  Jerome was transported from his high school in The Bronx to Wheaton’s beautiful campus in Illinois.  He had access to everything he needed to succeed at Wheaton, including a support team supplied through Posse.  But Jerome didn’t make it past his first semester before dropping out.  Why?  In his words, Jerome simply believed he didn’t belong there…wasn’t deserving of a college education.

A young lady, Melanie, attended the same public high school as Jerome and was in his graduating class.  Everyone always told Melanie that she’d be president when she grew up.  She was that smart, and that motivated.  When Melanie arrived as a freshman at this school and found that it had no advanced placement classes or library, she concluded that instead of being prepared for college, she and her classmates were being prepared to, in her words, “flip burgers” for the rest of their lives.  She, too, sadly chose to believe that she was not worthy of a college education or a bright future outside of the poverty-stricken neighborhood in which she’d grown up.  She struggles today as a single mom, and wonders every day what might have been if she’d chosen to believe something different.

The core belief that Jerome and Melanie share is that they are essentially worthless.  They believe that they have nothing to offer the world, and so, are undeserving of anything good in it.

These beliefs are false.  And we Christians, we are the truth-bearers.

How can we communicate to this generation of children that they are valuable beyond what they can imagine?  How can we show them the great love that resides in the Father’s heart for them? 

How can we convince them that He made them for a purpose, and gave them gifts to share with the world and glorify Him?

Well…we’re working on it.  There are so many factors that come into play in a child’s perspective of his or her place in the world.  But we do have the opportunity to become one of those factors…one of those voices in their lives that help form their ideas of themselves and who they were made to be. 

Shine has created a database for the purpose of offering special guest presenters to the teachers at A. Montoya Elementary.  It is our hope that a teacher could look on our database and find a biologist, a lawyer, a business owner, a stay-at-home parent, a chef, a politician, an artist, and YOU…a person who would be willing to come in once or twice a year to speak to his class or help him develop a special activity that pertains to your area of expertise. 

The goals of this database are as follows:

1. Lend support to our teachers. Teaching in a Title 1 school means that you fight the core beliefs Jerome and Melanie formed at young ages.  This is not an easy task.  Help them change these precious kids’ minds about themselves, and give the teachers new depth to their lessons. Show the teachers they’re not alone in their fight for this generation.
2. Show the kids their worth. They won’t believe they’re worth your  It means a lot when you step out of your busy, important life to be with them.  It demonstrates our core belief that God loves them.
3. Encourage the kids to dream. When you, a real person from their own community (NOT a teacher) tells them that a bright future is within their reach, it sticks a bit more than when their teacher says it. In fact, you may be the person that causes them to believe it.

Please consider adding yourself to the list of potential presenters.  We need artists, scientists, writers, stay-at-home parents, crafters, runners, business people, and YOU!  Please click on the following link to fill out the form to be added to the database.  Praise God that we get to be part of His transformative work!

Shine Bright Database

Click here to learn more about Shine and all the ways they serve students, teachers and families at A. Montoya!

Valentine’s Day has passed. Maybe it was everything you hoped for, or a lot less than you imagined. Maybe your marriage is dynamic and everything is going great, or maybe your stuck in a bit of a rut and wondering how in the world that happened? Either way, I want to share some ideas on how your marriage relationship, and you personally, can grow and thrive in Christ.

Ruts are a result of erosion, a natural and dynamic process, yes, but destructive rather than constructive. If your marriage is in a rut, perhaps you are not deliberately protecting it.

The thing about a rut is that you can accidently fall or drive into one simply by not paying attention…but rarely will you accidently get out of one. It takes deliberate and focused effort.

Whether driving, or thriving in your marriage, the main issue is to actively pay attention, close attention so you can stay out of the rut. Make your marriage a priority, stay focused, and at a minimum, devote time to these activities:

Listening: What was your spouse's day like? What was the best part of their day? What were their struggles – what was the " big rock" of their day? Also recognize if things were difficult for them, and they really don't want to talk about it – maybe there something else you can do right now to help them? Ask how can you best serve them, and then listen to the answer? It’s better to ask than assume.

Talking: Good conversation is the lubricant of marriage! If you're the kind of person that doesn't talk much, consider cultivating communication for your spouse's benefit. First, don't expect your spouse to read your mind and second, try not to interrupt!

Proverbs 18:2 tells us:

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.”

When you interrupt, people can lose their train of thought and it can be very annoying – so I’ve been told directly.

Praying Out Loud Together: Communication reveals the mind and our thoughts to one another, but prayer unveils the heart, and ultimately the soul.

It is the experience of being in the inner sanctum when your spouse is in communion with God. And you get to share in that! This doesn't happen overnight, especially if you haven't been praying together previously -  but this is the goal, and it is very achievable with practice! Start praying together and watch the Lord bless your marriage, because of your active inclusion with Him at the center!

Encouraging: Marriage is a team sport! Be the person your spouse can't wait to see, can't wait to be with, can't wait to talk to, and always trusts to be honest with them! Be on their side, even if they do something wrong – maybe most especially if they do something wrong! God extends grace and mercy to us; we certainly need to follow suit with our spouses. You must accept that they, like you, are imperfect and will inevitably sin. In Ephesians 4:2-3 we are given a beautiful picture of how to encourage someone after they have made a mistake,

“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

We are called to walk together, recognizing that each will sin, but working together toward godliness.

“speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

We can recognize that neither partner is perfect while working together to grow in our relationship with Christ. There is a difference between accepting your spouse as a sinner and allowing them to remain in active sin.

Be graceful as you encourage them to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” as part of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:1).

Playing: Yes, having fun! If you're not having fun in your marriage, get with the program! Plan date nights, play board games or listen to music, go for walks or tell jokes! Having a heart that is open to “playing” yields great joy! Simply watch children, the experts of play! They have perfected the art of joy, naturally, as you likely once did in the beginning of your relationship with your spouse or as a child yourself.

The above ideas can help with creating peace in a marriage. Every marriage is unique, so be attentive and focused on what is, and is not, working in your marriage!

Pray, Play, Listen, Encourage, Talk and see how God draws you together! Put God at the center of your marriage and watch what happens!

If you are looking for some tools or ideas on how to improve and work on your marriage, be sure to watch for upcoming Marriage Matters workshops!